As the N.C. Secretary of Transportation starts negotiations to modify the contract with a private company building toll lanes on Interstate 77, there’s plenty of uncertainty about when and how the controversial project can be changed.
And tolls, a politically explosive issue in north Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, are being picked up by both parties. Democrats hoping to break the Republican’s legislative super-majority in November are criticizing Republicans, while Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, are hammering Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for not acting now to cancel the contract with Spanish infrastructure firm Cintra.
In a statement Thursday, Forest all but declared his candidacy against Cooper for the governor’s seat in 2020, with the 26-mile toll project as a signature issue.
“The I-77 toll road contract was a colossal mistake started by the Perdue administration, signed by the McCrory administration, punted by the Cooper administration and would be fixed by a Forest administration,” Forest wrote.
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